|
CHAPTER 11. TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS |
1. Direct objects
Most of the verbs examined so far have been in the
Active Voice. When
a verb is in the Active Voice, the subject of the verb refers to the person
or thing
performing the action described by the verb; and the
object of
the verb refers to the person or thing
receiving the action described by
the verb.
In the following examples, the objects of the verbs are printed in bold
type.
e.g. He read the
book.
I did not see the
balloon.
They ate the
potatoes quickly.
She rode her
bicycle along the sidewalk.
Do we understand
it?
In these sentences, the verbs
read,
did see,
ate,
rode and
do understand are in the Active Voice; and the words
book,
balloon,
potatoes,
bicycle and
it are the objects of the verbs. These
objects are said to be
direct objects, because they refer to things
which receive directly the actions described by the verbs.
See
Exercise 1.
2. Lay and Lie, Raise and Rise, and Set and Sit
Verbs which take an object are usually called
transitive verbs. Verbs
which do not take an object are usually called
intransitive verbs.
Many English verbs can be used either intransitively or transitively.
For instance, in the sentence
Most birds can fly, the verb
to fly
is intransitive, since it is used without an object. But in the
sentence
This pilot will fly the plane, the verb
to fly is transitive, since it takes the object
plane.
However, some English verbs can be used only intransitively.
A few
pairs of verbs should be noted. The two verbs of each pair have similar
meanings, but one of the verbs can take an object, and the other cannot.
In the following table, the verbs labeled
intransitive are those which
cannot take an object.
| | Infinitive | Simple Past | Past Participle |
| Transitive: | to lay | laid | laid |
| Intransitive: | to lie | lay | lain |
| | | | |
| Transitive: | to raise | raised | raised |
| Intransitive: | to rise | rose | risen |
| | | | |
| Transitive: | to set | set | set |
| Intransitive: | to sit | sat | sat |
Particular care must be taken not to confuse the verbs
to lay and
to
lie, since, as shown above, the Simple Past of the verb
to lie has
the same form as the bare infinitive of the verb
to lay.
a. To Lay and To Lie
To lay is a transitive verb, which can take an object. The following
examples illustrate the use of the Present Continuous, Simple Past, and
Present Perfect tenses of the verb
to lay. The verbs are underlined,
and the objects of the verbs are printed in bold type.
e.g. I
am laying the
table.
He
laid a
bet on the white horse.
The hen
has laid an
egg.
To lie is an intransitive verb, which cannot take an object. The
following examples illustrate the use of the Present Continuous, Simple Past, and Present Perfect tenses of the verb
to lie.
e.g. She
is lying on the sofa.
We
lay on the beach in the sun.
He
has lain in bed for a week.
In these examples, it might appear that the words
sofa,
beach, and
bed act as objects of the verb
to lie. However, this is not the case.
Not only verbs, but also
prepositions have the ability to take
objects. A few commonly used English prepositions are
at,
by,
for,
from,
in,
of,
on,
to and
with. Prepositions will
be discussed in detail in a later chapter.
In the examples above,
sofa, and
beach are objects of the preposition
on; and
bed is the object of the preposition
in.
See
Exercise 2.
b. To Raise and To Rise
To raise is a transitive verb, which can take an object. The following
examples illustrate the use of the Present Continuous, Simple Past, and
Present Perfect tenses of the verb
to raise. The verbs are underlined,
and the objects of the verbs are printed in bold type.
e.g. She
is raising poodles.
He
raised the
window.
They
have raised a
crop of wheat.
To rise is an intransitive verb, which cannot take an object. The
following examples illustrate the use of the Present Continuous, Simple
Past, and Present Perfect tenses of the verb
to rise.
e.g. The moon
is rising in the east.
They
rose to the occasion.
The temperature
has risen by five degrees.
In these sentences, the verbs have no objects. The words
east,
occasion and
degrees are the objects of the prepositions
in,
to and
by.
See
Exercise 3.
c. To Set and To Sit
To set is a transitive verb, which can take an object. The following
examples illustrate the use of the Present Continuous, Simple Past, and
Present Perfect tenses of the verb
to set. The verbs are underlined,
and the objects of the verbs are printed in bold type.
e.g. They
are setting a
record.
We
set the
jars on a shelf.
Have you
set the
date for your trip?
To sit is an intransitive verb, which cannot take an object. The
following examples illustrate the use of the Present Continuous, Simple
Past, and Present Perfect tenses of the verb
to sit.
e.g. They
are sitting by the front steps.
I
sat at my desk for an hour.
You
have sat on the couch all afternoon.
In these sentences, the verbs have no objects. The words
steps,
desk,
and
couch are the objects of the prepositions
by,
at and
on.
See
Exercises 4 and
5.
3. Indirect objects
In addition to taking direct objects, some verbs also take
indirect
objects. In the following examples, the direct objects are printed in
bold type, and the indirect objects are underlined.
e.g. We gave the
child a
toy.
I sent the
man the
information.
In these examples, the words
child and
man are said to be the
indirect objects of the verbs
gave and
sent. Indirect objects
refer to things which receive indirectly the actions described by
the verbs. In the above examples, the words
toy and
information
are the direct objects of the verbs.
Indirect objects usually refer to living things.
It is possible for a sentence containing an indirect object to be
rewritten by placing a preposition before the indirect object. When
this is done, the original indirect object can be regarded either as
the indirect object of the verb, or as the object of the preposition.
For example, the sentence
We gave the child a toy, can be rewritten as
follows:
We gave a
toy to the
child.
In the rewritten sentence,
child can be regarded either as the indirect
object of the verb
gave, or as the object of the preposition
to.
The following examples illustrate the position of the indirect object in
a sentence. The direct object,
toy, is printed in bold type, and the
indirect object,
child, is underlined.
e.g. We gave the
child a
toy.
We gave a
toy to the
child.
When an indirect object is
not preceded by a preposition, the indirect
object must be placed
before the direct object. Thus, in the sentence
We gave the child a toy, the indirect object
child is placed before
the direct object
toy.
However, when an indirect object
is preceded by a preposition, the
indirect object must be placed
after the direct object. In the sentence
We gave a toy to the child, the indirect object
child is preceded
by the preposition
to. Therefore, the indirect object,
child is
placed after the direct object
toy.
The object which is placed last in a sentence tends to receive greater
emphasis than the object which is placed first. Thus, the word order of
a sentence can be varied in order to give greater emphasis to one object
or the other. For instance, in the sentence
We lent the teacher a book,
the direct object
book is slightly emphasized. However, in the
sentence
We lent a book to the teacher, the indirect object
teacher
is emphasized.
See
Exercises 6 and
7.
A few English verbs, such as
to describe,
to distribute,
to explain
and
to say, can take an indirect object
only when the indirect object
is preceded by a preposition. In the following examples, the direct
objects are printed in bold type, and the indirect objects are underlined.
e.g. He described his
experiences to the
reporters.
They distributed the
leaflets to their
friends.
We explained the
situation to the
participants.
She said
something to her
teacher.
These verbs cannot take an indirect object which immediately follows the
verb. One reason for this may be to avoid creating sentences which are
ambiguous or confusing. For instance, a sentence which began with the
words
He described the reporters... would create the impression that
it was the reporters who were being described. When
the reporters is
preceded by the preposition
to, there is no ambiguity.
